Two of the Red Sox’ most promising young players were among the winners at the 2016 Boston Baseball Writers Awards Dinner. Here’s Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts accepting awards and looking pretty friggin spiffy. Major points to X for the tux and newly-bronzed locks, but JBJ keeps pace with the pocket square.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2016/01/watch-xander-bogaerts-and-jackie-bradley-jr-accept-awards-at-the-boston-baseball-writers-dinner.html/feed0Jon Lester Selling His Newton Home Can Only Mean One Thing.http://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/10/jon-lester-selling-newton-home-can-mean-one-thing.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/10/jon-lester-selling-newton-home-can-mean-one-thing.html#commentsWed, 01 Oct 2014 13:07:55 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=17218That John Henry is building him some kid of funky but well-appointed, state-of-the-art family pad underneath Fenway Park. With secret Batcave-like entry and exit points, ...

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/10/jon-lester-selling-newton-home-can-mean-one-thing.html/feed1Remembering Charlie Hustle: What Pete Rose Could Teach Us Todayhttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/05/remembering-charlie-hustle-pete-rose-teach-us-today.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/05/remembering-charlie-hustle-pete-rose-teach-us-today.html#respondFri, 23 May 2014 10:30:55 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=16233Many of you may still remember him – Cincinnati-born baseball star Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle” is still one of the most successful ...

Many of you may still remember him – Cincinnati-born baseball star Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle” is still one of the most successful players in professional baseball. He went into retirement as an all-time leader in hits, games and at-bats. He served as a manager for the Reds until in 1989 he was suspected to have bet against his team while serving as manager. He was found guilty after an investigation by the Commissioner’s office who hired former Justice Department prosecutor John Dowd to shed some light on the matter.

Pete Rose was barred for life from the sport for this and still remains in exile to this very day. Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing wrong with official wagering and other forms of gambling, it is a time honored tradition that is a part of baseball culture. But not while managing a team. That’s just wrong and more than a little bit suspicious, right? Wait – is there a lesson in here somewhere about the behavior of baseball managers? Let’s see.

source: forbes.com

The other form of gambling – the one that’s legal, obviously.

Let’s face it, our economy is in the crapper, everybody knows that. Really, everybody? Well, the message has not yet reached many managers in our beloved sport. There, a speculation bubble is growing, because teams are spending ludicrous heaps of money on players that aren’t that much of a superstar. In 2012, Anibal Sanchez scored an $80 million five-year contract and Brandon League $22.5 million three-year contract. These are just two examples for multi-million dollar deals for not so multi-million dollar players. The teams obviously can afford it. They are being backed by billion-dollar TV deals, so they obviously can afford it. Problem is – this is more or less the same kind of high-ledge speculation that sent our economy down the drain. The TV-networks are struggling with their finances, too, and the cash-flow is all but certain. Why is there no rule against that kind of gambling in this sport? I mean, what would happen, if the stream of money would suddenly dry up? I am a pessimist you say? Well, it is already happening in other countries all over the world. Shouldn’t there be some kind of rule to protect the teams from such dangerous speculation? Pete Rose was banned for betting on his own team – who bans the managers who bet on getting outrageous sums of money from their sponsors? Also, there is one other thing…

This really is not reflecting too well

source: thebiglead.com

Although right now, most baseball teams are quite healthy financially, there is no reason to spend such outrageous sums for not-top-notch players. Why? Because it looks bad for the fans. Imagine sitting on the bleachers, watching those overpaid players to their thing. Have you never thought something along the lines of “I have to have two jobs to support my family, but this guy is getting millions to be an okay baseball player?” If you haven’t, let me tell you, many people have. In fact, one of the reasons why stadium admittance is declining and the teams need to come up with insane promotions is, because many people feel that the sport is losing touch with their own social reality. And you know who is depending on those spectators, too? The TV-networks. You see the circle coming around? So, let’s learn from Pete Rose and make our managers not gamble with their teams? Pretty please?

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2014/05/remembering-charlie-hustle-pete-rose-teach-us-today.html/feed0And Starring Mike Napoli as Adrian Gonzalezhttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/and-starring-mike-napoli-as-adrian-gonzalez.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/and-starring-mike-napoli-as-adrian-gonzalez.html#commentsTue, 23 Apr 2013 18:20:09 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=13210When Adrian G was still with the Padres and earning the title of “most coveted player in Boston history,” all we’d hear about was how ...

When Adrian G was still with the Padres and earning the title of “most coveted player in Boston history,” all we’d hear about was how his “swing” was “made” for “Fenway” and the bat-induced hysteria the guy would raise if we signed him.

So we did. And then he got here. And through some bizarre cocktail of heightened expectations, media pressure and whatever else he could think up, we ended up with the third best home run hitter on the team. Or, to put it in perspective, six more home runs than we got out of Pedroia in AGon’s first season with us. Yeah, he won a Silver Slugger. But with all the build-up, I was expecting the heavens to open and thunder claps to accentuate his every at-bat. Even when I’m sober. Which isn’t often.

Anyway, fast forward to last season. Jen Royle talks up Mike Napoli on the SG podcast. We end up signing the guy. Then he falls off the radar. Then we hear about the hips. So we resign ourselves to getting whatever we can out of the guy, and start silently praying for a contingency plan.

In other words, it was almost the exact opposite of the A-Gon signing. Low expectations. Uncertainty. No early printing of World Series tickets. But the guy has been raking since he got here, already logging 22 hits, 4 home runs and a league-leading 25 RBIs–four of them coming on a dramatic grand slam that helped seal up yesterday’s win.

How long he can keep up this pace is unknown. But for now, he’s doing a pretty f#$king sweet job of playing the slugger we thought we’d be getting in A-Gon.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/and-starring-mike-napoli-as-adrian-gonzalez.html/feed4It’s the Most Wonderful Day of the Yearhttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/its-the-most-wonderful-day-of-the-year.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/its-the-most-wonderful-day-of-the-year.html#commentsMon, 08 Apr 2013 15:45:42 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=13046My Dad’s been gone for almost seven years now. And Christ knows that in that stretch, there’ve been more than a few times that I ...

My Dad’s been gone for almost seven years now. And Christ knows that in that stretch, there’ve been more than a few times that I needed his advice, his insight, and his mannered reassurance that no matter how hopelessly bizarre my life got, everything would pull together nicely in the end.

But there’s no day I miss him more than Fenway Opening Day.

Because to him, that day was the greatest of days. The KING OF DAYS. It was as if Christmas and your birthday got together and had a kid. It was never-ending summer and a lifetime of promise and free hot dogs and new bikes for everyone crammed into the few short hours the game was on. Sure, there was “opening day.” But unless it happened at Fenway, it almost didn’t count.

Fenway Opening Day was more than just the “true” start of the season. It was an unofficial holy day of obligation. And we treated it as such.

Used to be we’d go to the games, and I’ve no doubt my refusal to ever pay to park pushed the man a little closer to his deathbed. When tickets got too pricey and he got too ill, we’d watch the games at his place. And there’d be grilled burgers and donuts and popcorn and soda and ice cream and whatever the hell else we could get our mitts on because this was the day you said “f$%k all” to diets and health and common sense. The Red Sox were back, goddam it, and we were gonna do whatever the hell we wanted.

The last coherent conversation I had with my father was in a dimly-lit hospital room watching a NESN replay of the infamous “bloody sock” game. It was the most animated I’d seen him in months. Maybe years.

“Let’s just leave,” I suggested, only half-joking. “Let’s go down the street to the Cask and watch the rest of the replay on the big screen.”

He just laughed. “We’ll do that next Opening Day.”

He was gone in a week. And I’ve replayed that “Opening Day That Never Was” in my head a million times.

Life can throw a pretty good curve. Plot lines change abruptly. Friends grow up and move away. Players come and go. Van Halen switches lead singers. Robots take your job, sometimes by force. But Fenway Opening Day provides much-needed stability. That green wall. That red seat. Pesky’s Pole. These are good things. Perhaps some of the best.

So as much as I miss Dad today, it’s probably the one day that I can still hear his voice the clearest. Shouting (politely) at the TV (“No Jackie Bradley Jr. in the line-up? What the heck?”), cheering on the home team, telling me that if I have more than two beers he’s taking my car keys.

Here’s to my Dad. Here’s to your Dad. Here’s to those long gone who we’d love, more than anything, to be sitting next to at today’s game.

And here’s to Fenway Opening Day.

(For full effect, listen to the clip of Andy Williams and replace “time” with “day” in the chorus.)

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/its-the-most-wonderful-day-of-the-year.html/feed140Viewing It All Through Beer-Colored Glasseshttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/viewing-it-all-through-beer-colored-glasses.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/viewing-it-all-through-beer-colored-glasses.html#commentsSun, 07 Apr 2013 14:57:57 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=13038I originally wanted to title this post “Today Mike Napoli will get his groove back and hit three home runs” but then I thought about ...

I originally wanted to title this post “Today Mike Napoli will get his groove back and hit three home runs” but then I thought about how much good yesterday’s Lackey post helped Lackey so I’ll just keep it on the down-low.

But I will say this: I have a feeling that LESTER VS. DICKEY will be a game for the ages. In fact, I will be DVRing this sucka because I am convinced that one day MLB will be selling it as a collector’s edition DVD in a special commemorative leather slip case with commentary from both pitchers, their high school coaches and Marky Ramone because why the hell not. I may even burn it and sell it myself. (Heh-heh, just kidding, FBI. Just kidding. Maybe.)

In simplest terms, a win today means going back home 4-2, which is a pretty respectable showing against the Jays and Yanks. Of course, 3-3 wouldn’t be half bad either, seeing as how the last few seasons have groomed me to accept mediocrity in its various forms. But a winning road trip before Fenway Opening Day against the Orioles? Yes. I want that.

So spark up the grill, crack the beers, drag that thrift shop couch out onto the front lawn (don’t let them fool you, the neighbors love that shit) and let the good times roll.

Also, Lester Dickey would have been an awesome name for a ’70s heavy metal bassist.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/viewing-it-all-through-beer-colored-glasses.html/feed105Irrationality After Game One, Or Why We’re Winning the World Serieshttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/irrationality-after-game-one-or-why-were-winning-the-world-series.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/irrationality-after-game-one-or-why-were-winning-the-world-series.html#commentsTue, 02 Apr 2013 03:36:56 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=12969If North Korea’s gonna start lobbing nuclear missiles our way, I hope they at least have the good sense to wait until the Jackie Bradley ...

If North Korea’s gonna start lobbing nuclear missiles our way, I hope they at least have the good sense to wait until the Jackie Bradley Jr. story gets a couple more weeks to play out. Because after today’s Opening Day contest with the Yankees, I’m ready to see JBJ change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands and give AL East pitchers a little what-for.

Okay, that may be the liquor talking. In the end, the guy had no hits in game one, but he did draw three walks, including one in the second that led to a run. More importantly, patrolling the vast tundra that is Yankee Stadium’s left field, he pulled a sweet-ass snare of a Cano line drive that had everyone wondering, “what the f$%k did I just see?”

Everything else went surprisingly well for the Sox. Ellsbury had three hits at the top of the order, Victorino and The Elf and Gomes each had a couple. Lester gave up just two runs and grabbed seven Ks over five innings. And the bullpen limited New York to one hit the rest of the way.

Was it just the sort of thing we needed to close the books on 2012? Yes, it was. Now it’s full speed ahead into 2013. And if North Korea can just calm down and keep their shit together, we’re gonna see some damn good baseball from this team.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2013/04/irrationality-after-game-one-or-why-were-winning-the-world-series.html/feed18Then There Was That Time Superman Ignored Crime and Communism to Help a Pitcher Make the Big Leagueshttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/11/then-there-was-that-time-superman-ignored-crime-and-communism-to-help-a-pitcher-make-the-big-leagues.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/11/then-there-was-that-time-superman-ignored-crime-and-communism-to-help-a-pitcher-make-the-big-leagues.html#commentsFri, 30 Nov 2012 11:30:34 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=12439Here’s a little something to get you through the dog days of winter, which is cheaper and slightly healthier than that Schlitz and red meat ...

Here’s a little something to get you through the dog days of winter, which is cheaper and slightly healthier than that Schlitz and red meat thing you’ve been doing.

A reader of our fabulous Facebook page dropped a link to a spectacular post at Old-Time Family Baseball that recalls a 1942 issue of Action Comics wherein Daily Planet reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane are sent to Florida to cover spring training. This provides a chance for the Last Son of Krypton to step off the Metropolis crime beat, and drop some vintage 1940’s sexism while he’s at it:

Needless to say, Clark and Lois get derailed on their trip to Florida, but end up taking in a sandlot baseball game where they are immediately smitten with a heat-throwing lug of a pitcher. Clark inexplicably makes it his mission to get this guy into the bigs, turning into Superman — and likely ignoring major crimes and the ever-present threat of Communism — to make it happen.

You can see how it all turns out here, and I highly recommend it. The story is, if nothing else, a reminder of a simpler, perhaps better time for America. Before Superman got involved in, er, other pursuits.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/11/then-there-was-that-time-superman-ignored-crime-and-communism-to-help-a-pitcher-make-the-big-leagues.html/feed3The Surviving Grady Podcast: Red Sox Apocalypse With Special Guest Jen Roylehttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/09/the-surviving-grady-podcast-red-sox-apocalypse-with-special-guest-jen-royle.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/09/the-surviving-grady-podcast-red-sox-apocalypse-with-special-guest-jen-royle.html#commentsSat, 22 Sep 2012 17:56:21 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=12111The 2012 Red Sox will officially end this season as a losing team. So what better way to try to drown out every last memory ...

The 2012 Red Sox will officially end this season as a losing team. So what better way to try to drown out every last memory of this miserable summer than drinking gallons of beer and bringing in our pal, SB Nation Boston columnist, former Yankees and Orioles reporter and hometown girl, Jen Royle.

In this 45-minute epic (yes, you’re damn right I said epic), we discuss what went wrong (spoiler: Bobby V), who should be managing the team next season (spoiler: not Bobby V) and why you should root for John Lackey (really!) in 2013. I’m half shitfaced through the thing, so there are the prerequisite dick jokes and F-bombs. And an argument over whether or not you say “hot dog’ or “frankfurter.”

You can listen using the player below, or downloading the mp3 direct from Pod-O-Matic or iTunes.

Please note: This podcast was recorded last week, hence my references to the Yankees series. Yes, it took me that long to edit and post. Like I said, I drink a lot.

]]>http://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/09/the-surviving-grady-podcast-red-sox-apocalypse-with-special-guest-jen-royle.html/feed4And With That, Tampa Bay Joins Andy Kaufman in the Great Beyondhttp://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/09/and-with-that-tampa-bay-joins-andy-kaufman-in-the-great-beyond.html
http://www.survivinggrady.com/2012/09/and-with-that-tampa-bay-joins-andy-kaufman-in-the-great-beyond.html#commentsWed, 19 Sep 2012 16:25:01 +0000http://www.survivinggrady.com/?p=12083The Red Sox haven’t done a whole lot of things right this season. But they’ve been pretty good at putting Tampa Bay out of their ...

The Red Sox haven’t done a whole lot of things right this season. But they’ve been pretty good at putting Tampa Bay out of their misery, beating them last night for the second straight game and essentially ending any silly playoffs talk at the Trop.

“How pathetic is it when you look more pathetic than Bobby V’s bunch, which gave up its ghost a long time ago? They’re done. Over and out.”

Look, I hate to see the Yankees step into the postseason again, but I’m kinda liking this “taking everyone down with us” approach. And after this, we’ll be one of the last things standing between the Orioles and a taste of postseason glory. Some 2011 payback would. Not. Suck.